Gulf Shores looks to gauge future of Hangout Festival through economic study
Marc D. Anderson | [email protected] By Marc D. Anderson | [email protected] ,
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on June 18, 2013 at 12:05 AM, updated June 18, 2013 at 8:23 AM
GULF SHORES, Alabama -- In late 2010, coming off the inaugural $3 million Hangout
Music Festival and trying to rebound from the BP oil spill, the City Council gave festival
organizer and founder Shaul Zislin the green light to hold the event for the next five
years on Gulf Shores’ public beach.
It was a conditional commitment with the council having to approve the three-day
festival’s plans each year and having the ability to pull the plug if it strayed too far from
the city’s family-friendly image.
Past events have drawn the likes of Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon to the Red Hot Chili
Peppers and Foo Fighters to electronic dance music acts and jam bands and everything
in between.
Three years into the agreement, the council is ready to see the true impact of the
festival, weighing the economic benefits against the strain on full-time residents. Past
estimates of the event, with its capped attendance of 35,000, pinned $30 million on its
impact.
During Monday’s work session, Finance Director Cindy King relayed the Finance
Committee’s recommendation to hire Semoon Chang, formerly of the University of
South Alabama and now an economist with Gulf Coast Center for Impact Studies, to
conduct an impact analysis for $9,000.
King said the study will cover the impacts to the city as well as surrounding areas.
“That’s been a number we’ve been trying to wrap our hands around for some time,” she
said.
A second offer of $12,500 by Auburn University, which conducts studies for the tourism
bureau, may also be considered, Mayor Robert Craft said.
“I think we’re at a point of really needing to understand the impact we’re having on our
community -- the amount of the financial impact, who we’re bringing into town, where
they’re coming from (and) understanding exactly who the visitor is,” Craft said. “We’re
under the assumption that we’re building a new customer base. Let’s be sure that we’re
building the right customer base.”
Councilman Joe Garris said he was particularly interested in finding out how residents
view the event. Although that will not be part of the economic analysis, Garris said it
would be ideal to delve into that issue after the financial impact is calculated since the
city is on the back end of its five-year commitment.
In the same vein, Craft said it's time to see if a long-term balance is viable between the
once-a-year festival and year-round residents.
“We are putting the community in a lot of discomfort to do this and to know what we’re
actually getting out of it as a city and as a region, I think is important for us to know as
we look at this thing going forward,” Craft said. “Is it worth what we’re forcing the
community to go through for this return? At least that will give us information that we
haven’t had.”
The council will most likely vote on the issue at its upcoming Monday meeting.